REPORT: Qualification Women
- by Nora Schuler

China, Russia Lead After Prelims

The Individual Apparatus World Championships got underway today with women’s qualifications. Federations could enter two gymnasts per apparatus (with a maximum four in total), the top 16 scorers went through to the semi-finals, which will be held on Friday.
France sent no women to this event, stating that they have other goals this year.
Australia and Spain sent only one single competitor - Alana Slater and Elena Gomez, neither of whom competed all apparatus. Slater sat out vault and Gomez did only beam and floor. The competition did not go well for Slater, who had a fall on each event.
After not fielding a full team to this year’s European Championships, Romania came back with all of their gymnasts qualifying to their respective semi-finals. Tiny Oana Ban watered down her beam tumbling (legs together layout instead of full-twisting back tuck after two ffs/ 9,6 SV) but tumbled up a storm on floor with a double layout, double Arabian front, two whips through to a double pike and a tucked fill-in.
Andreea Raducan did beam only and landed both her full-twisting back tuck and gainer one armed ff- one armed ff-layout well.

The Russians evenly split up their veterans with Svetlana Khorkina and Lyudmila Yezhova competing bars and beam and Yelena Zamolodchikova and Natalia Ziganshina working vault and floor. Khorkina glided through bars with her usual ease, but came to grief on a full-twisting ff on beam. Zignshina topped the vault standings after a very nice double twisting Yurchenko  Yelena Zamolodchikova’s funky new routine with moonwalking elements was well received by the audience, but a low landing on her first tumble and a step out of bounds cost her.
<< Judmilla Yeshova on beam
Highly touted Kang Xin (CHN) fell on a full-twisting tuck jump, just one skill into her beam routine and on bars on a Jaeger. Team mate Zhang Nan gave the judges very little to deduct after a superb routine that included a sheep jump to Rulfova. On floor, Zhang Nan qualified in first place with her version of “Barcelona” accompanied by a tucked full-in, triple twist, 2 ½ twist and a double pike.  


Zhang, Nan

Verona van de Leur left out her combination on the low bar but did enough to just squeak into the semi-final (9,6 SV). Solid on vault and floor, she had a few wobbles on beam but made the next round nonetheless, being the only gymnast to make all four semi-finals. Gabriella Wammes vaulted well (nice handspring front layout ½) to qualify to the semi-final together with van de Leur. Laura van Leeuwen’s original bar work (stalder to immediate Tkachev; stalder full to Jeager) earned her a spot in the semi-final. Suzanne Harmes went through on floor.

Courtney Kupets (USA) started well on bars with a hop full to high Tkachev but then struggled a little to barely clear the bar on her Markelov. A fall from beam cost her the trip to the semi-finals. Ashley Postell made both of her events (vault, beam) and showed a 10 SV on beam. Samantha Sheehan fell forward and put her hands down on her bars dismount but qualified to the next round on floor. Terin Humphrey delighted the audience with her well choreographed routine and had the tumbling to back it up (Arabian double front mount).

Daria Bijak earned a semi-final berth for Germany on beam despite missing one foot on her front pike mount. Bijak powered through the rest of her routine without blinking. On floor, she opened with a double front to punch front. Katja Abel was going very well on bars but put her hands down on her double front dismount and was hesitant on beam. Yvonne Musik competed her two events – vault, bars- very solidly and narrowly missed out on the bars semi-final.

(Gymmedia from Debrecen: Nora Schuler)

 

EVENT REVIEW:    WOMEN’S QUALIFICATIONS
Day 1, November 20, 2002-11-20
- Source: FIG, P. Silacci

GYERUNK! (GO!)
This was the most often heard encouragement in Hungarian, from the audience – to the gymnasts, during the opening day of the 36th World Championships in Artistic Gymnastics at the brand new Foenix Hall in Debrecen. 

ALL THE “TOP GUNS” ARE HERE!
Four-days show guaranteed!
There is hardly a defending Olympic, World and European champion and medallist missing from Debrecen.  Hungarian hosts have also surpassed all expectations, having managed to put everything in place for a great competition!

Wednesday, 20th November- Qualifications- Women
Total number of participants- 91 representing 54 countries. The number of the gymnasts taking part on each piece of apparatus were somewhat unexpected: most crowded was the Beam with 49 gymnasts taking part, followed by U.Bars- 43; Floor-42 and 39- on Vault.

1st Subdivision:
Zhang Nan from China broke the American dominance in Subdivision 1 with an incredible performance on Beam. The USA World Championships newcomers Terin Humphrey and Courtney Kupets perform in style.
Highest scores:
Vaults- Terin Humphrey (USA)- 9.162 ;  U.Bars- Courtney Kupets (USA)-9.575 ;  Beam- Zhang Nan (CHN)- 9.625;  Floor- Terin Humphrey (USA)- 9.237

2nd Subdivision:
New leaders on Floor and Vault! The new gymnastics prodigy Verona van de Leur from Holland topped the list on Floor (9.375), while Brazilian Danielle Hypolito confirmed her world class on this apparatus with equal 9.375. Closest to them was Sabina Cojocar (ROM), 9.362, for elegant Spanish-style routine.
The European Champion on Vault Natalia Ziganchina, Russia – stuck her Yurchenko double twist and Yurchenko full twist for a 9.387. Another four gymnasts (Postel (USA), 9.268, Cojocar (ROM), 9.268, Kvasha (UKR), 9.187 and Van de Leur (NED), 9.181, pushed the leader in Subdivision 1, Terin Humphrey, into 6th position.
The European Champion on Beam Ludmila Ejova (RUS)- impressed once again with her extraordinary originality on Beam and P.Bars, and took the second positions on these two apparatus (9.562 and 9.575 respectively).
The defending World Champion on Beam, Romanian star Andreea Raducan, sat in third position on Beam (9.312), but there is still a long way to go - the important thing in the Qualifications for each participant was to break through to the ½ Finals on Friday (16 gymnasts on each apparatus), and then to the Finals on Saturday and Sunday (the 8 best gymnasts.

3rd Subdivision
Enter the Queen!
Twice Olympic, twice World and three times European Champion Svetlana Khorkina, Russia was stunning on her crown discipline, the Uneven Bars- record high 9.737 for the day. (Unfortunately later on she fell from a Full turning flick on the Beam, and nearly missed to qualify for the Semi-Finals).
The leader on Beam, Zhang Nan, China, won loudest ovations once again - this time for a very impressive Floor routine  (9.387). She is in fact, the only gymnast who managed to go through the Qualifications as the highest scorer on two apparatus. Remember the name!
Nobody would disturb Ziganshina for the leadership in the Vault Qualifications; only the 27-years old veteran from Uzbekistan Oxana Chussovitina, have pushed ahead into the fourth position on this apparatus.

Seen for the first time ever!
Vault:
16 years old Bulgarian Nicolina Tankusheva:  Round off- full turn on- straight somie- full turn off (SV 9.900).

Uneven Bars:
Brenda Magana from Mexico- Tripple back dismount in tuck position- very impressive!

Opinions
Peggy Liddick- National Coach for Australia: “The elite group of 8-10 gymnasts and the rest of the field- this is what I saw today. I wonder whether there should be semi finals at the World Championships for specialists at all. The difference between the best and the rest of the competitors could be spotted immediately and I don’t think the judges need to see the gymnasts three times (Qualifications, Semi-finals and Finals), in order to decide who are the best.”

Zoltan Jordanov- National coach for GB: “Nice to see all the “Top Guns” here in Debrecen! Today’s was a competition of a very high standard. Sure, the stars will provide even more interesting and intensive competitions in the following days, as the Championships progress. It was also nice to see some new gymnasts who will come on the spotlight in the very near future”.

( Source: fig)